80 RECREATION. 
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 
“For sport the lens is better than the gun.” 
I wish to make this department of the utmost 
use to amateurs. I shail, therefore, be glad to 
answer any questions and to print any ttems sent 
me by practical amateurs relating to their expert 
ence in photography. 

SOME TIPS ON REDUCTION. 
In October Recreation A. V. Wood- 
cock asks for a formula for reducing over 
developed negatives, and is told to soak 
them in a 10 per cent solution of red prus- 
siate of potash, and to examine the nega- 
tive every few minutes to note the process 
of reduction. I trust that Mr. Woodcock 
is blessed with more than the usual amount 
of patience, else his task must prove weari- 
some. I can well imagine the beginner at- 
tempting to make use of this information, 
and I can foretell the result he will ob- 
tain, or rather will not obtain; for red 
prussiate of potash in solution, used alone, 
has uo more effect as a reducer than so 
much water. Its only visible effect on the 
plate is to stain the film a deep yellow. 
The various reducing solutions common- 
ly in use may be divided into 3 classes, 
according to the manner in which they 
work. One class acts evenly all over the 
negative, removing density equally from the 
thick and the thin portions. The second 
class works unevenly, cutting deepest into 
the thin parts of the film and leaving the 
denser portions comparatively untouched, 
so that the result is to produce greater 
contrast in the negative. The third class 
produces exactly the opposite effect, thin- 
ning down the high lights and reducing the 
contrast. By keeping the idea of these 3 
different classes in mind and using a so- 
lution of the proper sort when occasion 
arises, great improvement can be made in 
work. 
Take, for illustration, a plate which has 
had the proper exposure. It came up nice- 
ly in the developer, but the latter may have 
been stronger than needed, or through 
lack of experience, development may have 
been carried too far. The whole plate 
looks thick and heavy and many of the 
finer details are buried under the dense de- 
posit of silver. In order to make a print 
from this, a long exposure to light is re- 
quired, and as a means of improvement it 
should be reduced. Although the relative 
values of the different densities have been 
somewhat altered from the normal by over 
development, the most satisfactory results 
will probably be obtained by simply remov- 
ing an equal amount from the whole sur- 
face of the plate. To accomplish this, use 
a reducer of the first class, one which will 
act equally on both lights and shadows. 
For this I recommend the following, known 
as Bartlett’s reducer: - 
Dissolve 15 grains perchloride of iron 
and 30 grains of citric acid in 16 ounces 
of water. Soak ihe plate in this a few 
minutes, rinse well and immerse in a clean 
hypo bath of the usual strength for fixing 
plates. Then wash well. 
This reducer works well and evenly, the 
only objection to its use being that the re- 
duction is visible only after the plate has 
been placed in the hypo bath, and on this 
account it is somewhat difficult to tell just 
how much the density of the plate has been 
changed. A few trials with waste plates 
will give one an idea of how long to soak 
the negative in the iron solution. 
An over exposed plate needs a different 
treatment. I get the best results by de- 
veloping it until it is dense and then re- 
ducing it, using a reducer of the second 
class, which will give an increase of con- 
trast. In such cases I generally use the 
red prussiate of potash and hypo solution, 
commonly called Farmer’s solution. To 
prepare this, dissolve 20 grains of red 
piussiate of potash (potassium ferricyan- 
ide) in one ounce of water. Dissolve sep- 
arately 1% ounce of hypo in 4 ounces of 
water. Add enough of the potash solu- 
tion to the hypo to color the latter solution 
a pale yellow, and immerse the plate in 
this, having previously given it a thorough 
soaking. Rock the tray and watch the 
negative closely. If the action of the so- 
lution is slow, add a few drops more of 
the potash. After the solution has acted 
sufficiently wash the negative thoroughly. 
Reduction with this solution should be 
carricd on in weak light and the potash so- 
lution should be freshly mixed, as it un- 
dergoes a chemical change when exposed 
to light. This reducer sometimes works 
unevenly, reducing the plate in spots, and 
may also stain the film yellow if allowed 
to act too long; but by giving the plate a 
preliminary soaking and using a_ freshly 
mixed solution such trouble may _ be 
avoided. 
Last comes the negative with too much 
contrast; the under exposed, over devel- 
oped snapshot, the interior view or what 
not. For these it is best to use a solution 
of ammonium persulphate, freshly mixed, 
of a strength of, say, 15 grains to the 
ounce of water. Soak the negative well 
and apply the persulphate solution. A 
peculiarity in the action of this reducer is 
that it seems to work slowly at first, but 
gradually gathers headway and acts faster 
and faster; so the plate should be carefully 
watched, lest the reduction go too far. When — 
reduction is sufficient it may be stopped by 
immersing the plate, after rinsing it, in a 
solution of sodium sulphite, say about 15 
grains to each ounce of water. The sul- 
phite solution checks the action of the re- 
ducer at once. After a few minutes’ im- 
mersion the plate should be well rinsed 
